Austrade media release
Wednesday, 21 November 2007
Austrade will foster cooperation and boost collaboration between mining companies in Australia, India and Indonesia through a first-of-its-kind seminar to be held in Kolkata (India) tomorrow (Thursday, 22 November).
The first ever Trilateral Mining Seminar will showcase Australian expertise in mining technology and services directly to industry leaders from India and Indonesia including the world’s largest coal producer – Coal India.
It will drive best practice in mine efficiency, safety standards and environmental management, and explore avenues for collaboration.
Austrade’s New Delhi-based Senior Trade Commissioner, Michael Moignard said similarities between the Indian and Indonesian mining sectors and a specific interest in investment from Australia prompted Austrade to organise the seminar.
“Both India and Indonesia are resource rich and they have the need for innovative mining expertise,” he said.
Australian companies have been very successful in supporting the Indonesian mining industry and we wanted to share that experience with an Indian audience.”
Seminar participants include Former President of Newmont Mining (Indonesia), Mr Noke Kiroyan; Chairman of Hindustan Copper, Mr SC Gupta; CEO of Rio Tinto India, Mr Nik Senapati; Managing Director of Tata Power Trading Company, Mr Amulya Charan; Chairman of Gujarat NRE Resources, Mr Arun Jagatramka; and Former Director of Indian School of Mines, Professor A K Ghose.
Mr Moignard said India’s dynamic growth was driving the change in the mining sector and creating opportunities for Australian businesses.
“The reality is: to improve or even maintain a GDP growth of around eight to nine per cent, India needs more electricity, more cement, more steel, more building products, more roads, and more rail and port capacity. To do this, India must produce more coal and more iron ore; to do that, India has to run more efficient and more productive mines.
“By 2012, India anticipates a shortfall in coal production of around 100 million tonnes. In reality, this figure could be even higher as the estimated production figures are ambitious. Even with continued modernisation of the Indian mining sector these targets may not be met.
Austrade’s National Manger for Infrastructure and Major Projects, Jeff Turner said Australian companies were well-placed to assist India’s development.
“The way to modernise the mining sector is to utilise the best available MTS (mining technology and services). This is the driving force behind the take up of Australian technology by the Indian mining industry.
“India is rapidly moving towards environmentally sustainable options in coal mining, and there is strong interest in all clean coal technology from Australia. Coal washeries are a major opportunity for Australia. In fact, some people in India have referred to the move to washing coal as the ‘washery boom’.
“Not only is there a growing acceptance in India that it's environmentally unsustainable to burn coal with an ash content of around 30 to 40 per cent, but that it's also not economical to transport unwashed coal over large distances.
“Australian software, especially mine management systems, continues to do well in the market. Other key areas are equipment and services for underground mining. India is increasingly moving towards large, modern underground mines as surface coal and minerals are exhausted,” he said.
The Trilateral Mining Seminar will be attended by a 14-member Australian business delegation.
It will be followed by the Global Steel Conference 2007 organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce. Participants include senior representatives from the Indian Ministry of Steel, Ministry of Railways, Department of Road Transport and Highways, and mining companies such as China Coal and Coke Holdings (China), Aditya Birla Group (India), Tata Iron and Steel (India) and McCloskey Group (UK).
Available for interviews: Michael Moignard and Jeff Turner
Media contact
Purnima Ganapathy
Tel: +61 9390 2319
Mob: +61 419 127 577
For further news and information from the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) visit www.austrade.gov.au/mediacentre. |